IRIC discovery could lead to better treatment of skin cancers

Blocking the action of a particular protein in our skin could improve the treatment of skin cancers, according to a study published in Oncogene yesterday by Philippe Roux, a researcher at the University of Montreal's Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC). “Our findings reveal part of the mechanisms responsible for the resistance of melanoma to anti-cancer treatments, and suggest that a particular protein in our bodies called RSK may be targeted in combination therapies to overcome drug resistance,” Roux explained.

Although melanoma accounts for only 4% of all skin cancers, it is responsible for 80% of skin cancer-related deaths worldwide as it is highly invasive and resistant to conventional chemotherapies. Melanoma originates from pigment-producing cells, called melanocytes, located in the skin. The incidence of malignant melanoma is growing rapidly worldwide and there is still no effective therapy to treat it. Approximately 160,000 new cases of the disease are diagnosed each year.

Roux and his team focused their research on a signaling pathway called Ras/MAPK, which is often deregulated in melanoma, but also in lung, colon and pancreatic cancers. A signaling pathway is a chemical chain reaction that causes the cells in our bodies to act in a certain way. In this study, Roux and his team found that a protein in the Ras/MAPK pathway, RSK, contributes to chemoresistance by altering the response of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents.

This is the second Oncogene publication for Philippe Roux this year. In a paper published in July, Roux and his colleagues, IRIC Principal Investigators Katherine Borden and Sylvain Meloche, demonstrated that the same protein involved in chemoresistance contributes to melanoma growth, making the protein RSK a promising therapeutic target for treating the disease.

The study was made possible thanks to grants from the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute and the Cancer Research Society.

About Philippe RouxPhilippe Roux is Principal Investigator of the Cell Signalling and Proteomics research unit at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) and Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Montréal. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Signal Transduction and Proteomics and holds a Career Development Award from the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP). For more information about Philippe Roux, please visit www.rouxlab.org.

About IRIC | Institute for Research in Immunology and CancerAn ultra-modern research hub and training centre located in the heart of Université de Montréal, the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) was created in 2003 to shed light on the mechanisms of cancer and discover new, more effective therapies to counter this plague. IRIC operates according to a model that is unique in Canada. Its innovative approach to research has already led to discoveries that will, over the coming years, have a significant impact on the fight against cancer. For more information about IRIC, please visit www.iric.ca.

Media contact

Carolyne LordCommunications AdvisorIRIC | Institute for Research in Immunology and CancerUniversité de MontréalTelephone: 514-343-7282Email: carolyne.lord@umontreal.ca